TV Review: Spooks went all emotional on us on Monday night – as Lucas’ true identity was revealed, the pace dipped but the drama remained as excellent as ever.

Compelling: Richard Armitage as Lucas. Or John. It’s hard to keep up.

This week in MI-5 land, the Chinese were at it again, kicking Vaughn in the crotch and threatening to decapitate Maya. Those pesky Orientals; they’re always up to something. At least according to Spooks. Tensions rose all round at head office, as Ruth and Harry sifted through their various emotional problems in a typically British way, with faces like thunder and stone-cold euphemisms to disguise their feelings. Meanwhile, having as good as killed an innocent girl last week, Lucas stabbed Vaughn in the leg and then nearly shot Beth, proving once and for all that he’s not the hero we thought he was. Cue numerous flashbacks of a younger Lucas dashing around Dakar with a cracking ‘90s haircut, as the full, messy extent of his involvement with Vaughn was revealed to Harry and it turned out that Lucas (real name: John) wasn’t only a double agent, but a bomber too. As the mystery of Lucas was carefully unravelled in yet another of London’s creepy warehouses, the episode slowed considerably and the nimble, snappy Spooks pace we’ve come to know and love came to a halt. However, the tense and touching drama that played out between Harry and Lucas was a worthy replacement and by the end of the episode, things had got back on track in spectacular fashion, with Frenchmen being shot in the heart and Lucas closing the programme with the clichéd but brilliant line, “Lucas North is dead”. Now this canon has really been let loose, I expect he’ll be causing even more havoc next week…